Police believe the fire at a home in Stanley, Wakefield, may have been started deliberately early on Wednesday morning after a substance was possibly poured through the letterbox.

The fire killed Andrew Broadhead, 42, and his eight-year-old daughter Kiera, while a 35-year-old woman and 13-year-old are thought to have escaped through a bedroom window and have since been discharged from hospital.

Police said they believed the father managed to get out of the house but returned in an attempt to save Kiera.

Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Bryar of West Yorkshire Police said a substance may have been poured through the letterbox, and the person responsible may have been burned in the process.

Andrew Broadhead died while trying to save his daughter (Picture: SWNS)

She appealed for anyone with information to contact the force.

At a press conference on Thursday, Ms Bryar said: ‘This is a terrible incident which has robbed a family of a husband and their youngest daughter. Following inquiries, we are now treating it as a murder inquiry.

‘The seat of the fire appears to have been by the front door and we are investigating the possibility that an accelerant was poured through the letter box.

Kiera, 8, was also killed in the fire (Picture: SWNS)

‘We know that this fire took hold extremely quickly and it is possible that the person who set this fire was themselves burned in doing so.

‘Have you seen anyone with burns or burn injuries in the last 24 hours in circumstances which you found suspicious?